I recently read a post on www.readtomedad.com called Make Your Child Laugh Every Day. It so happened I also was reading about same topic in a book. I could not agree more with how important it is to create a joyful atmosphere in our homes for our children. Therefore I thought I would add my own post with a few thoughts about it.

Here are a few things to remember when joking around that are important. These are the things that help create a fun environment without letting the joking become personal and destructive.

  1. Don’t laugh at your children or mistakes they made.
    1. You should not laugh at anything that will embarrass them.
    2. Only laugh at something they have done if they are the ones joking about it.
    3. Don’t laugh at things that will make them think your saying “That was stupid”
  2. Joke about circumstances or past stories of your life.
    1. Laugh about situations you were in.
    2. Laugh about things that happened to you.
  3. Laugh at silly things you have done.
    1. Laugh at your own mistakes.
    2. This will be a lesson for them with out you having to say so.
    3. The only thing that could get hurt is your own pride.
  4. Tell jokes that are not aimed at anyone specific.
    1. Tell jokes that are not aimed at people or groups of people.
    2. Tell jokes that will not teach your children to put others down.
  5. Play fun (or funny) games with your children.
    1. There are lots of games that will make your children laugh.
    2. play games where your children can laugh at you. (like try to play charades)
  6. Take time to be silly with your children (at the appropriate time).
    1. When your around your family it is OK to be a little silly.
    2. In adult settings being silly will not teach them that there is a time and a place for things
    3. With the pressures of life sometimes it hard to remember to just have some fun.
  7. Do something they will think is spontaneous and crazy.
    1. Children like to feel special, doing something they like out of the ordinary shows them you are thinking about what they like and that they are important to you
    2. If it is really crazy or breaks a household rule you should plan it with your spouse.
      (like going out extra late to go swimming)
    3. It can be planned for you but they can think it was a spare of the moment thought.

No matter what you do have fun, keep in mind what your child will think is fun (not like visiting a museum or art gallery unless they really like that). There is a time and a place for everything. Keep adult settings as a time to act mature and adult like and reward them for it. Keep fun times as a time to joke, be silly and have a good time.